Chapter 71: Echoes of hunger

A week passed without any irregularities. No further dungeons appeared, bringing relief to the survivors. However, for Summer, this was far from a relief. She had only found twenty more Elite zombies. She needed nearly five hundred more Elite cores to evolve.

If it was only evolution, that would have been fine, but without enough Elite cores to eat, her hunger began to return, and along with it, her irritation.

Summer found herself salivating whenever she smelled the intoxicating scent of humans.

Similarly, as her control slowly slipped away, her zombies began to mirror their master. One of her forty-five ferals had almost stalked a human awakener. If not for the swift action of One to take down that feral, a human awakener would have been killed.

"Candies..." Summer lay on the edge of the aquarium, her one leg playing in the water while the other rested on the side. Her stomach was empty; she could swallow the entire water in the aquarium and still be hungry.

"Hey Corruption, do something for her, or she will lose her control quickly!" Shadow said in anxiety. As her physical anchor, he could feel how much effort she was taking not to lose control of herself. If she ever did lose control, the results would be catastrophic.

Except for her mother, no one in the human settlement could stop her.

The humans had only started accepting her. Shadow had seen how Summer enjoyed interactions with humans, and he didn’t want to see her getting rejected by them. She too didn’t want to hurt the humans.

The little girl might appear to be an arrogant lass, but her heart is full of warmth. Shadow didn’t want to see her becoming depressed over something that she couldn’t control.

[It should have been the time for more Elites to appear, but the dungeon ruined everything. Many of the zombies have been killed because of the portal break. For a new group of the Elites to appear in the city... that’s almost impossible unless some humans become corrupted and evolved. That too will take weeks, if not months...]

"Then just leave her like this? She can be herself for a maximum of two days..." Shadow said.

[She should leave this city and go to where there will be more Elites.]

Shadow fell silent. "That works too."

And so, following the words of the system and Shadow, Summer chose to go to Baidu, which was the city nearest to Lancity. However, the moment Salma Al Mansari knew this, she only said one sentence.

"I will come with you!"

"Okay." Summer too happily agreed, ignoring the ghostly faces of Vincious Gerald, the mayor and acting general of the settlement, and Jacob, the assistant general.

Summer leaving the city didn’t affect them, but if the Rogue leader left, that would instantly destroy the morale of every survivor and even the military.

After all, the contributions of the Rogues in stopping the waves of zombies weren’t low. Without them, the settlement would have fallen just like any other settlement long ago. Jacob and Vincious exchanged looks, understanding the gravity of the situation.

However, from the temperament of the Rogue leader, they knew the decision she took was absolute. If they showed any resistance, that would only result in her dissatisfaction, so they remained silent till Summer pulled Salma out of the tent.

"What should we do now?" Vincious said in an exhausted voice. When he thought everything was slowly becoming better, another bomb exploded. He felt like the heavens were playing with him.

"Obviously, we should stop her leaving," Jacob muttered.

"Your daughters are friends with that zombie girl, right? Can they ask that girl to stay? If she stayed, the Rogue leader would stay too..."

Jacob shook his head. "My daughters were friends with her elder sister, not her."

Ella and Ilas had even hidden Summer’s identity from their father. They lied that the older zombie girl was the elder sister while she was the younger sister.

For the name, they simply said it was because the elder sister was searching for the younger sister when she got infected, so she continued using the name ’Summer’.

Although Jacob had doubts, the notion of someone reverting into a child was still a fantasy to most humans.

Vincious closed his eyes for a moment. "Since we can’t directly ask her to stay, there is only that way."

Jacob raised his brows. "What’s it?"

"Use the survivors."

Jacob frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Call Imani..." Vincious leaned back into the chair. "She’s experienced in that."

Jacob’s expression hardened immediately. He knew Imani well. She was the head of the civilian public relations committee, a woman who understood how to sway public opinion better than anyone else in the settlement.

Using her meant turning public sentiment into a silent leash, steering the collective voice of the masses to publicly plead with Salma and Summer to remain. It was manipulative, but in a settlement built on fragile survival, desperate men used desperate tools.

"If the entire outer district gathers at the gates tomorrow morning chanting pleas for the Rogue leader to stay, Salma might reconsider," Jacob said slowly, weighing the consequences in his mind. "Or it might anger her. You know how unpredictable the Rogue leader can be."

"We take that risk," Vincious replied, opening his eyes. His gaze was cold and resolute. "A temporary annoyance is better than total military collapse when the next migration wave hits. Get Imani. Tell her to frame it around the safety of the children."

While the two leaders plotted inside the command tent, Summer was already packing her meager belongings.

Well, except for a few clothes her mom collected for her, there was nothing.

Maya stood quietly, her grayish-blue skin blending into the evening shadows as she watched her master prepare.

"Master," Maya spoke in a low, flat tone. "The humans outside are restless. Many have noticed our preparations."

"Let them look," Summer muttered, her voice muffled as she zipped her bag shut. Her tiny fingers tapped rhythmically against the wooden table.

The gnawing hunger in her stomach was a persistent ache now, reminding her of why staying here was a slow death sentence. Not for her, but for them.

She was sure they would prefer she was gone than her losing control and eating them.

Lancity had been thoroughly cleaned out. Without fresh Elite cores, her progression would stagnate, and her control would eventually fracture.

She could not afford to become a mindless beast again, not after coming this far.

Outside the aquarium room, the cold night wind howled across the frozen rooftops of the Northern Settlement. Farther down in the lower streets, the faint murmur of human voices rose and fell like a distant tide.

They were whispering about the rumor that the little ’Chubby Boss’ and the Rogue leader were planning to pack up and leave for Baidu.

To the ordinary survivors, Summer was more than just an anomaly. She was the accidental mascot of peace, a tiny figure whose very presence kept the terrifying Rogue leader tethered to their walls.

If she walked out, the protective shield over the settlement would fracture.

Salma walked into the room just as Summer hoisted the small bag over her tiny shoulders. The tall woman looked down at her daughter, her dark green eyes softening instantly. Without a word, Salma reached out and adjusted the strap so it sat more comfortably on Summer’s back.

"Are your puppets ready?" Salma asked softly.

"One and Two are waiting in the sub-tunnels with the rest," Summer replied, her crimson eyes looking up.